


The Raven and the Writing Desk

by tinybox



Series: unreality_strikes_back.exe [4]
Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Arguing, Childhood Friends, Computer Programming, Conflict of Interests, Crushes, Deja Vu, False Memories, Social Anxiety, Time Loop, Video & Computer Games, Video Game Mechanics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:01:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22548970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinybox/pseuds/tinybox
Summary: At his second meeting, Yuri shares one of her favorite books with Kaito.
Series: unreality_strikes_back.exe [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619047
Kudos: 3





	The Raven and the Writing Desk

***Load**

Well, I'm back at the Literature Club; since I was the last to come in, everyone's already hanging out.

"Hi again, Kaito!" Monica says cheerfully. With a wink, she adds, "Glad to see you didn't run away on us. Hahahaha!"

I smile weakly at her. "Of course I wouldn't...after all, I'm a _terrible_ runner. Besides, even though this whole thing is a little strange, I always keep my word. Most of the time, anyway."

Yuri, getting up from a nearby chair, walks over to Monika and I. "Thanks for keeping your promise, Kaito," Yuri says gently. "I hope this isn't too much of a commitment for you. Making you dive headfirst into literature when you're not accustomed to it..."

Scoffing, Natsuki makes her way to the front of the room. "Oh, come on! He doesn't deserve any slack. Sayori told me you didn't even want to join any clubs this year."

I can feel my face starting to flush.

"And last year too!" Natsuki continues, jabbing her finger near my face. "I don't know if you plan to just come here and hang out, or what...but if you don't take us seriously, then you won't see the end of it."

Monika gently pushes Natuski's hand away, placing herself between us both. "Natsuki, you certainly have a big mouth for someone who keeps her manga collection in the clubroom."

Natsuki's scowl grows deeper. "M-M-M...!" 

I'm not sure, but I think she's stuck between saying "Monika" and "Manga".

"Manga is literature!!" Natsuki grumbles, stomping back to her seat.

"Don't worry, guys," Sayori interjects. "Kaito always gives it his best as long as he's having fun. He helps me with busywork without me even asking. Like cooking, cleaning my room..."

"How dependable," Yuri says admirably.

"Not really. I kind of get antsy when everything's messy. As for the cooking...well, let's just say that when left to her own devices, Sayori has a high chance of burning her house down. Besides, we have a system."

Sayori nods enthusiastically. "Yep! I help Kaito out with his English homework, and he gives me an ice cream sandwich! Sometimes he even buys one for me even if I don't do his homework for him- I mean, help him out."

Both Yuri and Monika giggle. 

"You two are really good friends, aren't you?" Yuri says more than asks. "I might be a little jealous..."

Sayori grabs her arm. "Don't worry, I'm sure you and Kaito can become close friends, too!"

Yuri flushes, looking away from us both.

Letting go of Yuri's arm, Sayori bounces a little on her toes. "Oh, oh! And Yuri even brought you something today!"

"W-wait! Sayori..." Yuri mumbles to the ground, "I..."

"Don't be shy!" Sayori encourages.

This, however, only makes Yuri seem to clam up even more. After a few seconds, she stutters out, "I-it r-r-really isn't a b-big deal. Sayori made it sound like a big deal when it really isn't..."

Sayori looks confused...and a little stricken. "Eh? I'm sorry, Yuri, I wasn't thinking..."

I guess that means it's up to me to rescue this situation?

Um...

Well...

"Don't worry about it," I tell Yuri-after what must have only been two seconds but felt like an eternity-"I wasn't expecting anything in the first place, so any nice gesture from you is a pleasant surprise...wait, that sort of came out wrong, I didn't mean to make it seem like you doing something nice is a surprise, what I'm trying to get at is that I appreciate any kind of gift at all so...um...I'm going to stop talking right now. Wait, um, before I stop talking I just want to say that if you don't want to make it a big deal than I won't, either. Okay, now I'm stopping for real."

My awkward, rambling, one-sided speech must have done some good, because now Yuri is smiling at me. 

Sayori giggles. "Kaito, you're so silly sometimes!"

"Well," Yuri begins, "here you go." Reaching into her bag, she pulls out a book. "I didn't want you to feel left out...so I picked a book I thought you might enjoy. It's a short read, so it should keep your attention. And we could...if you wanted to...discuss it together?"

I enthusiastically take the offered book, which is titled, 'Portrait of Markov'. There's an ominous-looking eye symbol on the front cover.

Awesome.

"Yuri, thanks for the book! It means a lot that you got this for me...um, I know I said I wouldn't make a big deal of this...anyway, it would be great to talk about the book together."

"Phew...well, you can read it at your own pace. I look forward to hearing what you think."

***Save**

"Okay, everyone!" Monika suddenly announces. "Why don't we share the poems we wrote now?"

"Y-yeah," I say nervously.

My relaxation ends; I can't believe I agreed to do something this embarrassing. It was hard coming up with inspiration, seeing as I've never done this before. Even after reading some guides on the internet, it was still really difficult to put my pencil to the paper and start writing. 

"Well," Monika says cheerfully, "now that everyone's ready, why don't you find someone to share with?"

"I can't wait!" Sayori says excitedly.

Both Sayori and Monika enthusiastically pull out their poems; Sayori's poem is on a wrinkled sheet of loose leaf torn from a spiral notebook, Monika's poem, on the other hand, is written in a composition book.

I can already see Monika's pristine handwriting from where I sit.

Natsuki and Yuri reluctantly comply as well, reaching into their bags.

I do the same, myself.

Ẅ̷̩̘̹̖̦̫͚͉̯͎̮̙̰͉͆̐͂̎͠ȟ̵͇̬͚̞̲̟̱̩̻̙̭͚̠̣̫̇̄̌̋̈̐͊̄̚͘͝ǒ̸͚̰̮̼͉̟̥̼͖̝͒͝ ̴̩͓̹̠̰̪͚̟̜̏̎̍̐̓͗̔̓͋̉̿͜͠s̶̛̮̫̘͇̹̜̳̥̞̝͌̅̎͋͝͝h̸͎̠͍̐̅̎̽̈́̆̃́̊͠ǒ̶̘̦̆̂͌̽̑̓u̴̡̨͈̩̥̗͔͔̻̭͙̜̤͎̎̇͑̔̽͌̿͜͝l̸̡̢̧̻̫̖̩͕̭͉̳̙̮͙͐̇̑̾͠ͅd̴̫̻̫̲̹̟̘̠ ̵̛͓̙̳͎̬͚̰̰̼̯͉̬͒͂͒̊̀̇̐͐̓̚͝I̵̢̢͔̙̟̝͇̻͆̉͛̇̉̓̔̐̅̂̇̄̚͝ ̶̥͎̃̔̈́͑̆s̵͍̘̙̼̓͒̇͑̀̌̊͝ḩ̶̡̼͈̳̬̱͎̯̔̑̾̈̋͂̓͒͒̉͌̉̚͝ͅo̸̟͈͓̫̫̓̈́̀w̷̛̗͇̗̭̓̽̑ ̸͈̫̦̻̮̺͔͋̔͜m̷̡͍͓̻̱͍̮̫̪͕͕͉̙̪̜̀̓̊͐͊͂y̸̳͇̰͖͇̫̩̅͊̍̋̈́̓̆̅̀͛̽̿̀̕͝ͅ ̸̼͙͎͍̼̈̆̋́̈́̐̍͒̄̚͠͝͝ͅp̸̳̖͔̫̲̙̣͖̦̙̗̂͋̐̓̐ơ̶͙̮͙͚̩̖͚̗̲̱̺̗̦̝͉̅̐͆̒̂̈́̈́̈́͗̕̕͝ể̵͔̗͎̯̙͙͈͇̖̘̬̬͈͠m̴̱̕ ̶̢̫͆̀̑̔͊̐̎͛̒͑͂̏t̴̢̢̝̟͕͈̲̃͛͐͋̎̉͐̂̅͆̑ợ̶̤̰̪̥͚̯̜̤̲̞̳̘͚̈́̑͆̈́̈́̍̐͋̕͘̕̕͠ ̸̡̩̪̩̭̝̪͖̝̗̞̹̲̓̐̾̆̈̋̍̑̑͋͘f̷̳̹͗i̵̲̼̬̝̼̓̾͊͑̏̇̈́ͅŗ̸̛̝͔̭̪̼̪͉̤̮̫̣̤̿̽͂͛̚ͅs̷̖͕̥̳̺̪̦̣͖̹̙̓̒̒̏̄̀̄̆̽͜͠t̵̢̡̧̘͇̞͓͓̤̳̪̯̝͉̔̽̐̆ͅ?̸̡̧̛̮͚͍̈́̉̓͊̀͑̉͆̍͌͝

Ş̶̱͈͓͇̣͓̗̆̐̾̽̊͘͝a̴̧̛̦͚̣̜̻̎̃̂̄͐̓͑́̉̕y̶̗͓̖̌̍̍ô̷̡̜͈̭͇̖͒́͑̂͐͛͆̃ŕ̶̜̭̜̫͕̬͍̥̌̊̐̃͠į̴̣̲̭̦̬̼͖̹̱̣̲͖͔̩̏

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Y̵̭̳̬̞̻̬̝͈̯͔͐̿̃̎̌̄̐̈́̐͂̃͠ͅͅu̸̢̡̡͓̜̝̗̞̣̘̳̻͑͐̎̅͜r̴̨͇̤̠͇̃̀̋͑̈́̾̉̑̉̑̋͊̕͝i̴̺̳̻̍

M̶̧̩̝̹̊o̸̧̟̫̺̱̤̭͈̱͒̀͊̎̌̎̚ͅņ̶͈̙̩̃͑́̀͗̈́̑͝͝i̷̡̨̹̩͇̓̇k̸͙̗̝̹̫͖͇̫͖̬͇̪͈̻̆͆̈́̇͒̌̚̚͘ã̸̡̺̦͖̳͚͓̹̗̺̄̌̏̂͐̑͜͠ͅͅ

Who should I show my poem to first?

Sayori, of course. I'm definitely most comfortable sharing it with her first. She my best friend, after all. 

...

My only friend, to be honest.

I hand my poem to Sayori, and she takes several minutes scanning through it.

Sayori's always been a quick reader, so her spending so much time on it concerns me.

"Sayori?"

"...Oh my goodness! This is sooooooo good, Kaito!"

"Eh?"

"I love it! I had no idea you were such a good writer!"

I feel my face flush. "Sayori, are you just saying this because you're my friend? Because I'm not a good writer at all. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing. I had to look up how to write poems last night, and that didn't even help."

"Well..." Sayori starts, "maybe that's why! Because I have no idea what I like, either!"

She giggles.

"Jeez...I suppose we'll have to muddle through this together."

Still, I'm sure Yuri's opinion will be more constructive than this.

Maybe even Natsuki's. 

"Are you sure you don't like it just because I wrote it?"

"Eh? Well, I'm sure that's part of it. I think I understand you better than a lot of people, you know? So when I read your poem, it's not just a poem. It's a Kaito poem! And that makes it feel extra special! Like I can feel your feelings in it!"

Sayori hugs the sheet to her chest.

I ruffle her hair. "You're so weird, Sayori."

"Ehehe...I'm really happy just that you wrote one. It just reminds me how you're really a part of the club now."

Besides the fact that I'm standing in front of her right now?

"Er...well...of course. I'm not really into it yet, but I that doesn't mean I'll break my promise."

"See? It's like I said before, Kaito...deep down you're not selfish at all, you know? Trying new things for other people...that's something only really good people do!"

"Thanks, Sayori."

"I'm gonna make sure you have a lot of fun, here, okay? That will be my way of thanking you!"

"Alright," I say with a smile, "I'm going to hold you to that."

"Yay! Now, you'll read my poem too, right? Don't worry, I'm really bad at this. Ehehehe..."

"We'll see about that."

**_Sunshine_ **

_The way you glow through my blinds in the morning_   
_It makes me feel like you missed me._   
_Kissing my forehead to help me out of bed._   
_Making me rub the sleepy from my eyes._

_Are you asking me to come out and play?_   
_Are you trusting me to wish away a rainy day?_   
_I look above. The sky is blue._   
_It's a secret, but I trust you too._

_If it wasn't for you, I could sleep forever._   
_But I'm not mad._

_I want breakfast._

"Sayori, this is just a guess, but...did you wait until morning to write this?"

There's a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks. 

"No! J-just a little bit!"

I nudge her shoulder with mine. "You can't answer 'just a little bit' to a yes or no question."

"I forgot to do it last night," Sayori finally admits.

"Well, at least that makes me feel a little better about myself..."

"Don't be mean!" Sayori says, swatting me on the arm. "I still tried my best..."

"Ah, yeah. I didn't mean to say it's a bad poem. It came out nice...or, how should I put it...it sounds just like you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Especially that last line."

"I made eggs and toast!"

"Even though you were late to school?"

"It's bad to skip breakfast! I get all cranky..."

I sigh. "Well, I guess there's no point in arguing. Well, do you think we should go trade poems with someone else?"

"Alright! This was fun. Monika's the best!"

"Ah...yeah."

"Next time," Sayori promises, "I won't forget! And I'll write the best poem ever!"

"Well, I guess I look forward to it. Oh, by the way, what kind of eggs did you make?"

"Sunny-side up, of course!"

"On whole-wheat bread?"

"Yep!"

"Sounds tasty."

"It was!"

"Was it worth being late for?"

"I'm not sure...maybe?"

"...One of these days, I'm going to get you an alarm clock."

Ẅ̷̩̘̹̖̦̫͚͉̯͎̮̙̰͉͆̐͂̎͠ȟ̵͇̬͚̞̲̟̱̩̻̙̭͚̠̣̫̇̄̌̋̈̐͊̄̚͘͝ǒ̸͚̰̮̼͉̟̥̼͖̝͒͝ ̴̩͓̹̠̰̪͚̟̜̏̎̍̐̓͗̔̓͋̉̿͜͠s̶̛̮̫̘͇̹̜̳̥̞̝͌̅̎͋͝͝h̸͎̠͍̐̅̎̽̈́̆̃́̊͠ǒ̶̘̦̆̂͌̽̑̓u̴̡̨͈̩̥̗͔͔̻̭͙̜̤͎̎̇͑̔̽͌̿͜͝l̸̡̢̧̻̫̖̩͕̭͉̳̙̮͙͐̇̑̾͠ͅd̴̫̻̫̲̹̟̘̠ ̵̛͓̙̳͎̬͚̰̰̼̯͉̬͒͂͒̊̀̇̐͐̓̚͝I̵̢̢͔̙̟̝͇̻͆̉͛̇̉̓̔̐̅̂̇̄̚͝ ̶̥͎̃̔̈́͑̆s̵͍̘̙̼̓͒̇͑̀̌̊͝ḩ̶̡̼͈̳̬̱͎̯̔̑̾̈̋͂̓͒͒̉͌̉̚͝ͅo̸̟͈͓̫̫̓̈́̀w̷̛̗͇̗̭̓̽̑ ̸͈̫̦̻̮̺͔͋̔͜m̷̡͍͓̻̱͍̮̫̪͕͕͉̙̪̜̀̓̊͐͊͂y̸̳͇̰͖͇̫̩̅͊̍̋̈́̓̆̅̀͛̽̿̀̕͝ͅ ̸̼͙͎͍̼̈̆̋́̈́̐̍͒̄̚͠͝͝ͅp̸̳̖͔̫̲̙̣͖̦̙̗̂͋̐̓̐ơ̶͙̮͙͚̩̖͚̗̲̱̺̗̦̝͉̅̐͆̒̂̈́̈́̈́͗̕̕͝ể̵͔̗͎̯̙͙͈͇̖̘̬̬͈͠m̴̱̕ ̶̢̫͆̀̑̔͊̐̎͛̒͑͂̏t̴̢̢̝̟͕͈̲̃͛͐͋̎̉͐̂̅͆̑ợ̶̤̰̪̥͚̯̜̤̲̞̳̘͚̈́̑͆̈́̈́̍̐͋̕͘̕̕͠ ̸̡̩̪̩̭̝̪͖̝̗̞̹̲̓̐̾̆̈̋̍̑̑͋͘f̷̳̹͗i̵̲̼̬̝̼̓̾͊͑̏̇̈́ͅŗ̸̛̝͔̭̪̼̪͉̤̮̫̣̤̿̽͂͛̚ͅs̷̖͕̥̳̺̪̦̣͖̹̙̓̒̒̏̄̀̄̆̽͜͠t̵̢̡̧̘͇̞͓͓̤̳̪̯̝͉̔̽̐̆ͅ?̸̡̧̛̮͚͍̈́̉̓͊̀͑̉͆̍͌͝

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Y̵̭̳̬̞̻̬̝͈̯͔͐̿̃̎̌̄̐̈́̐͂̃͠ͅͅu̸̢̡̡͓̜̝̗̞̣̘̳̻͑͐̎̅͜r̴̨͇̤̠͇̃̀̋͑̈́̾̉̑̉̑̋͊̕͝i̴̺̳̻̍

M̶̧̩̝̹̊o̸̧̟̫̺̱̤̭͈̱͒̀͊̎̌̎̚ͅņ̶͈̙̩̃͑́̀͗̈́̑͝͝i̷̡̨̹̩͇̓̇k̸͙̗̝̹̫͖͇̫͖̬͇̪͈̻̆͆̈́̇͒̌̚̚͘ã̸̡̺̦͖̳͚͓̹̗̺̄̌̏̂͐̑͜͠ͅͅ

"Hi Kaito! Having a good time so far?" Monika asks with a sweet smile.

I give a half-shrug and half-nod at the same time. "Ah...yeah."

"Good! Glad to hear it!" Monika chirps. "By the way, since you're new and everything...if you ever have any suggestions for the club, like new activities, or things we can do better...I'm always listening! Don't be afraid to bring things up, okay?"

"Alright...I'll keep that in mind."

I don't think I'm quite brave enough to say anything yet, but...once I get more settled in, maybe I won't be as nervous.

For now, I'm just going to go with the flow. 

"Anyway, want to share your poem with me?" Monika asks.

"It's kind of embarrassing," I admit, "but I already made a commitment to do it, so..."

Monika giggles. "I think everyone's feeling a bit embarrassed today. But it's that sort of barrier that we'll all learn to get past soon."

"Yeah, that's true. Well, here's my poem."

When she gets my work, she scans the paper thoughtfully, green eyes focused on every single ink stroke.

Have I made some kind of spelling error?

...I probably did.

Maybe I can claim that I'm taking poetic license or something?

Would that even work on her?

Oh no, she's finished reading it.

"Great job, Kaito! I was going 'Ooh' in my head while I was reading your poem. It's really metaphorical! I'm not sure why, but I didn't expect you to go for something so deep. I guess I underestimated you!"

I snort. "It's easiest for me to keep everyone's expectations low. That way, it always counts when I put in some effort."

"Ahaha!" Monika giggles, "That isn't fair!" 

"Did it work?"

"Well," she continues, "I suppose it worked. You know that Yuri likes this type of writing, right? Writing that's full of imagery and symbolism. Unlike Sayori, who likes using simple and direct words to describe happiness and sadness...Yuri likes it when readers are left to derive their own meaning. It's very challenging to write like that effectively. Both allowing people to get something out of it just by feel...or letting them deeply analyze all the nuances. It can take years of practice, which I'm assuming Yuri has at this point."

"I haven't read Yuri's poem yet," I admit. "But she does seem like a very skilled writer. I'm sure I'm nowhere near her level yet. I don't think I ever will."

"Don't worry so much about that!" Monika says reassuringly, "You just do your own thing. Just keep exploring, and learn by trying new things!"

"I'm sure I'll end up trying different things a lot. It could take a while before I feel comfortable doing this."

"That's okay!" Monika says with a cheerful smile, "I'd love to see you try new things. That's the best way to find a style that suits you. Everyone might be a little biased toward their own kind of styles...but I'll always help you find what style suits you the most! So don't force yourself to write the way anyone else wants you to write. It's not like you have to worry about impressing them or anything."

"That's where you're wrong," I joke, "I feed on validation. I constantly worry about what people think of me."

Both of us giggle.

It's funny how easy it is to talk to Monika. 

"Anyway, do you want to read my poem now? Don't worry, I'm not very good."

"You sound pretty confident for someone who claims not to be any good."

Monika shrugs. "That's because I have to sound confident. That doesn't mean I always feel that way, you know?"

"...I see. Well, let's read it, then."

_**Hole in Wall** _

_It couldn't have been me._  
 _See, the direction the spackle protrudes._  
 _A noisy neighbor? An angry boyfriend? I'll never know. I wasn't home._  
 _I peer inside for a clue._  
 _No! I can't see. I reel, blind, like a film left out in the sun._  
 _But it's too late. My retinas._  
 _Already scorched with a permanent copy of the meaningless image._  
 _It's just a little hole. It wasn't too bright._  
 _It was too deep._  
 _Stretching forever into everything._  
 _A hole of infinite choices._  
 _I realize now, that I wasn't looking in._  
 _I was looking out._  
 _And he, on the other side, was looking in_.

"Hmm...it's very freeform...if that's what you call it. Sorry, I'm not the best person to talk about for feedback."

"Aha...it's okay. Yeah, that style has gotten pretty popular nowadays. That is, a lot of poems have been putting emphasis on the timing between words and lines. When performed out loud, it can be really powerful."

"What was the inspiration behind this one?"

"Ah...well, I'm not sure if I know how to put it. I guess you could say that I had some kind of epiphany lately. It's been influencing my poems a bit."

"An epiphany?"

"Yeah... something like that. I'm kind of nervous to talk about deep stuff like that, because it's kind of coming on strongly...maybe after everyone is better friends with each other. Anyway...here's Monika's Writing Tip of the Day! Sometimes when you're writing a poem-or story-your brain gets too fixated on a specific point...if you try so hard to make it perfect, then you'll never make any progress. Just force to get something down on the paper, and tidy it up later!

Another way to think about it is this: If you keep you pen in the same spot for too long, you'll just get a big dark puddle of ink. So just move your hand and go with the flow!"

"...Thanks?"

"...That's my advice for today! Thanks for listening!"

Ẅ̷̩̘̹̖̦̫͚͉̯͎̮̙̰͉͆̐͂̎͠ȟ̵͇̬͚̞̲̟̱̩̻̙̭͚̠̣̫̇̄̌̋̈̐͊̄̚͘͝ǒ̸͚̰̮̼͉̟̥̼͖̝͒͝ ̴̩͓̹̠̰̪͚̟̜̏̎̍̐̓͗̔̓͋̉̿͜͠s̶̛̮̫̘͇̹̜̳̥̞̝͌̅̎͋͝͝h̸͎̠͍̐̅̎̽̈́̆̃́̊͠ǒ̶̘̦̆̂͌̽̑̓u̴̡̨͈̩̥̗͔͔̻̭͙̜̤͎̎̇͑̔̽͌̿͜͝l̸̡̢̧̻̫̖̩͕̭͉̳̙̮͙͐̇̑̾͠ͅd̴̫̻̫̲̹̟̘̠ ̵̛͓̙̳͎̬͚̰̰̼̯͉̬͒͂͒̊̀̇̐͐̓̚͝I̵̢̢͔̙̟̝͇̻͆̉͛̇̉̓̔̐̅̂̇̄̚͝ ̶̥͎̃̔̈́͑̆s̵͍̘̙̼̓͒̇͑̀̌̊͝ḩ̶̡̼͈̳̬̱͎̯̔̑̾̈̋͂̓͒͒̉͌̉̚͝ͅo̸̟͈͓̫̫̓̈́̀w̷̛̗͇̗̭̓̽̑ ̸͈̫̦̻̮̺͔͋̔͜m̷̡͍͓̻̱͍̮̫̪͕͕͉̙̪̜̀̓̊͐͊͂y̸̳͇̰͖͇̫̩̅͊̍̋̈́̓̆̅̀͛̽̿̀̕͝ͅ ̸̼͙͎͍̼̈̆̋́̈́̐̍͒̄̚͠͝͝ͅp̸̳̖͔̫̲̙̣͖̦̙̗̂͋̐̓̐ơ̶͙̮͙͚̩̖͚̗̲̱̺̗̦̝͉̅̐͆̒̂̈́̈́̈́͗̕̕͝ể̵͔̗͎̯̙͙͈͇̖̘̬̬͈͠m̴̱̕ ̶̢̫͆̀̑̔͊̐̎͛̒͑͂̏t̴̢̢̝̟͕͈̲̃͛͐͋̎̉͐̂̅͆̑ợ̶̤̰̪̥͚̯̜̤̲̞̳̘͚̈́̑͆̈́̈́̍̐͋̕͘̕̕͠ ̸̡̩̪̩̭̝̪͖̝̗̞̹̲̓̐̾̆̈̋̍̑̑͋͘f̷̳̹͗i̵̲̼̬̝̼̓̾͊͑̏̇̈́ͅŗ̸̛̝͔̭̪̼̪͉̤̮̫̣̤̿̽͂͛̚ͅs̷̖͕̥̳̺̪̦̣͖̹̙̓̒̒̏̄̀̄̆̽͜͠t̵̢̡̧̘͇̞͓͓̤̳̪̯̝͉̔̽̐̆ͅ?̸̡̧̛̮͚͍̈́̉̓͊̀͑̉͆̍͌͝

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Y̵̭̳̬̞̻̬̝͈̯͔͐̿̃̎̌̄̐̈́̐͂̃͠ͅͅu̸̢̡̡͓̜̝̗̞̣̘̳̻͑͐̎̅͜r̴̨͇̤̠͇̃̀̋͑̈́̾̉̑̉̑̋͊̕͝i̴̺̳̻̍

As Yuri reads my poem, I notice her eyes lighten. 

"...Exceptional," she breathes, still staring down at the piece of paper.

"Eh? Are you sure?"

Yuri flushes. "D-did I just say that out loud...?" 

Yuri first covers her mouth, but then ends up covering her entire face. 

"Say what out loud? I can't remember what you said, sorry about that. I have the memory of a goldfish. A drunken goldfish, actually. Besides, even if I did remember what you said, you didn't say anything wrong."

Yuri giggles. "I-I guess you're right. What am I getting so nervous for?"

She takes a deep breath.

"So...what kind of writing experience do you have? Your use of imagery and metaphors indicate you've written a lot of poetry before."

I shrug. "I don't have too much writing experience, but my mom's an author. She used to read her poetry books to me when I was a kid, so I guess I remembered some of the stuff I heard."

Yuri traces her finger down the poem, as though trying to break it down more thoroughly.

"Right...um...it's just that there are writing habits that are usually typical of new writers. And having been through that myself, I kind of learned how to pick up on them. I think the most noticeable thing about new writers is that they try and make their style deliberate. In other words, they tend to pick a writing style separate from the topic matter, and they form fit the two together. The end result is that both the style and the expressiveness are weakened. "

I nod in agreement.

Yuri sounds a lot more confident then she was earlier; her stammering is completely gone, and she sounds like an expert.

"Of course, that's not something you can be blamed for. There are so many different skills and techniques that go into writing even a simple poem. It might take you some time, but it all comes with practice, learning by example, and trying new things."

"Thanks, Yuri. That's really helpful."

Yuri flushes. "I also hope everyone else can give you valuable feedback. Natsuki can be a little biased though..."

"Biased? How?"

"U-um...well...never mind...I shouldn't be talking about people like that...sorry."

"It's fine. Don't worry, I won't say anything."

I'm not sure if Yuri is apologizing to me, herself, or Natsuki, but I don't want to pry. 

So, instead I ask, "Would it be alright for me to read your poem?"

Yuri smiles at me. "Please do!"

**_Ghost under the light_ **

_The tendrils of my hair illuminate beneath the amber glow._   
_Bathing._   
_It must be this one._   
_The last remaining streetlight to have withstood the test of time._   
_The last yet to be replaced by the sickening blue-green of the future._   
_I bathe. Calm; breathing air of the present but living in the past._   
_The light flickers._   
_I flicker back._

Yuri looks worriedly up at me. "I...I'm sorry I have such terrible handwriting!"

"Huh? You have great handwriting!"

"But it took you a long time to read..."

"I'm just a slow reader in general. This is kind of embarrassing, since I'm in a Literature Club and all, but reading has always been tricky for me. Also, I don't read script very often. I think your handwriting is really pretty!"

"Eh? That's...a relief. Not about the whole reading difficulty, of course. I just mean that I'm glad you didn't find it tricky to read."

"More importantly, though, I liked your poem. You've got a way with words."

"It wasn't too short? I usually write longer poems..."

"Not at all."

"I'm...really glad you like it. I'll be honest...since it's our first sharing, I wanted to write something a little bit more mild. Something easier to digest, I suppose."

"Are you into ghosts, Yuri?"

"Actually, the poem isn't about ghosts at all."

"R-really? Sorry about that, Yuri, I guess I really missed the point on that one."

"Well, I suppose you did only glance over it, after all...but remember that poets often express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in their work. They usually do more than tell a simple story, or paint a picture. In this case, perhaps the subject of the poem is only being symbolically compared to a ghost. Lingering in her last remaining comfort, unable to let go of her past. And soon to be left with nothing...that's a lot more solemn, putting it that way." 

"I didn't even think about it like that...but I really like the way you described it."

"It's nothing really," Yuri says modestly, "but...it makes me happy to hear that you like it. Just remember that it won't be long before you pick on these things, too."

"Maybe you're right. Although," I say with a grin, "I'm not sure I'll ever get my handwriting up to par with yours."

Yuri snorts, then looks embarrassed. "Sorry! I didn't mean..."

"Don't worry, everything's all _write_. You know, cause the word right sounds like write, and all."

Yuri giggles, hand covering her mouth as though she's trying not to show that she's smiling. 

She has a lovely laugh.

"I think I get it."

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

"...Well, it's about what I expected from someone like you."

Ouch.

"T-that's a little blunt..."

"Well, _excuse_ me. It's not like I said it was bad. It just didn't evoke any emotions."

"So basically, it's not cute enough for your tastes?" I tease. 

Natsuki scowls. "You want to get smacked?"

I rub the back of my neck. "I'll pass..."

Natsuki looks away. "Well anyway, I guess I need to show you mine. Not that you'll like it."

**_Eagles can fly_ **

_Monkeys can climb_   
_Crickets can leap_   
_Horses can race_   
_Owls can seek_   
_Cheetahs can run_   
_Eagles can fly_   
_People can try_   
_But that's about it._

"Yeah, I told you that you wouldn't like it."

"I like it. The ending's cool, and it takes me by surprise. It starts off flowing, and then it takes me for a loop with the last line."

"What?"

...Oh no, I messed up and made her mad.

"Just be honest!"

Actually, I think she doesn't look angry. She looks...nervous?

"Why are you so certain I won't like it?" 

"Because!" Natsuki snaps, crossing her arms over her chest, "Everyone in high school thinks that writing has to be all sophisticated and stuff...so people don't take my writing seriously."

"But isn't the point of poems to express themselves? Your writing style wouldn't make your message any less valid."

"Yes, exactly! It's easy to read, but it hits you hard. Like in this poem! Seeing people around you do great things can be really disheartening...so I decided to write about it. "

"I totally get that. When I see other really talented people doing amazing things, sometimes I don't even want to try. Especially when they're really younger than me." 

"Exactly! Anyway, the other great thing about simple writing is that it puts more weight on the wordplay. Like I set up for a rhyme at the end, but then I made it fall flat on purpose. It helps bring out the feeling in the last line."

"So you did...I guess more went into it than I realized."

Natsuki beams at me. "That's why I'm such a pro! I'm glad you learned something. Didn't expect from the youngest one here, did you?"

"Yeah, I guess not."

I decide to humor her with that last comment. I don't really care how old she is, but if Natsuki is feeling proud, than I won't take it away from her.

I guess that's everyone. 

Whew, it was a lot more stressful than I could have anticipated...but it was almost kind of fun as well. 

Maybe.

Is it worth all this stress?

Um...

I'll think about that later.

I glance across the room, where Sayori and Monika are happily chatting. Then, my eyes land on Yuri and Natsuki, gingerly exchanging their sheets of paper, sharing their respective poems.

As they read in tandem, I watch each of their expressions change.

Neither of them look particularly happy.

Natsuki's brows furrow in frustration. Meanwhile, Yuri smiles sadly. 

_This isn't good._

From across the room, I hear Natsuki mutter, "What's with this language...?" under her breath. 

"Eh? Um...did you say something?" Though polite, I can hear the steely edge underneath Yuri's tone.

_Oh no._

"Oh, it's nothing," Natsuki says, all faux casual. Dismissively, she returns the poem to the desk with one hand. "I guess you could say it's fancy."

"Ah-thanks..." Yuri stutters. "Yours is...cute." She's clearly grasping for straws, hoping not to offend Natsuki.

From Natsuki's outraged expression, it's clear that Yuri's attempt failed.

"Cute? Did you completely miss the symbolism or something? It's clearly about the feeling of giving up. How can that be cute?"

"I-I know that!" Yuri stammers, "I just meant...the language, I guess...I was trying to say something nice..."

Natsuki's scowl grows even deeper. "Eh? You mean you had to try that hard to come up with something nice to say? Thanks, but it didn't really come out nice at all!"

"Umm...well, I have a couple of suggestions..." Yuri begins.

Natsuki huffs.

_Oh no oh no oh no. Why did you have to say that, Yuri?_

"If I was looking for suggestions," Natsuki snips, "I would have asked someone who actually liked it. Which people _did,_ by the way. Sayori liked it. Kaito liked it too! So based on that, I'll gladly give you some suggestions of my own."

_Oh no she mentioned my name why did she have to mention me by name?_

_Why did you mention me by name Natsuki?_

"First off all-" Natsuki begins, before quickly getting cut off by Yuri.

"Excuse me..." Yuri says, "I appreciate the offer, but I've spent a long time establishing my writing style. I don't expect it to change anytime soon, unless I find something particular inspiring. Which I haven't yet."

_Oh **god** Yuri why did you say that?_

_Why isn't anyone stepping in?_

"Nngh!" 

Crossing her arms, Yuri says dismissively, "And Kaito liked my poem too, you know. He even told me he was impressed by it."

Natsuki suddenly stands up. "Oh? I didn't realize you were so invested in trying to impress our new member, Yuri," Natsuki snarks.

Yuri's face flushes bright pink. No longer cool and collected, Yuri stammers out, "That's not what I...you..you're just..."

Yuri stands up as well, pointing an accusatory finger in Natsuki's face. "Maybe you're just _jealous_ that Kaito appreciates my advice more than he appreciated yours!"

It doesn't look like either Sayori _or_ Monika have noticed what's going on.

_Please turn around please turn around please turn around..._

"Huh! And how do you know he didn't appreciate _my_ advice more?" Natsuki snaps back, hands clenching into fists. "Are you that full of yourself?"

"I..! No..." Yuri stares down at her hands for a moment, before whipping her head back up again. "If I was full of myself...I would deliberately go out of my way to make everything I do overly cutesy!"

"Uuuuu...!" Natsuki growls, puffing herself upwards in order to stare Yuri directly in the eyes.

 _Finally,_ Sayori turns, notices the commotion, and hurries over to them both. "U-um...is everyone okay?"

"Well, you know what?!" Natsuki sneers, "At least I wasn't the one whose boobs magically grew a size bigger when Kaito started showing up!!"

"N-Natsuki!!" Yuri yelps.

_Don't look at her boobs don't look at her boobs don't look at her boobs..._

"Um, Natsuki," Monika begins, clearly taken aback, "that's a little-"

Both Yuri and Natsuki snap, "This doesn't involve you!"

Monika startles, taking a step back.

"I-I don't like fighting, guys..." Sayori whimpers.

Then, to my horror, both Natsuki and Yuri turn back to me, as if noticing me properly for the first time. 

_Oh **no**._

"Kaito...!" Yuri stammers, "She's just trying to make me look bad...!"

"That's not true! She started it! If she could just get over herself and learn to appreciate that _simple_ writing is more effective...then this wouldn't have happened in the first place! What's the point in making your poems all convoluted for no reason? The meaning should jump out at the reader, not force them to have to figure it out. Help me explain it to her, Kaito!" 

_Why is she asking me???????_

_I don't know **anything** about poetry!_

"W-wait!" Yuri cries, and for a blissful moment I think she's going to tell Natsuki something along the lines of, _"Kaito's a beginner, we shouldn't force him to choose!"_

Instead-

"There's a reason we have so many deep and expressive words in our language! It's the only way to convey complex feelings and meaning the most effectively. Avoiding them is not only unnecessarily limiting yourself...it's also a waste! You understand that, right, Kaito?"

_No! I don't understand! I don't understand anything at all!_

"Um.."

"Well??" The two of them snap at me.

"..."

_How did I get dragged into this in the first place?! My opinion literally means nothing here! I know nothing about writing, let alone poetry!_

_B̸̠̺̜͐̿̏̈́̓́̈́̕͝͝u̴̡̨̙̖̥̯̣̅̐͑̂t̷͈͈͙͙͆̔̆͐͗͂͆̔̈̇ͅ ̷̢̪͕̩̘̳͙͙̻̻̻̬͊̐̑̓͗̎̇̒͐͊͋̌͜ẅ̶̺͎̻̑̔̍̃͌̓̇ḣ̵̨̧̖̻̻̭̞̱̘͐͐́́̆̐̐́͛̄̏͠ͅͅṓ̵͙̳̼̆̆̂̓͗͑̉͒̕m̸̻̩̥̫̩̬̟̫̰͖̺̼̊͒͒͆͐͆̈̌ͅę̴̪̭͓͈̭̞͉̣̙͓̬̞̝͚̾̋̒͊̅̊̋̔̒͐̅͘͝͠v̶̧̙̲͎̺̠̠̯̦̝̞̹͒͒̈͐̈́̐̈́̚͜ͅë̶̲̩̳̫̲͎͓͇̗͕̜͎̠̯̉̓̆̎̔͊̑̑͋͜r̵̢̀̈́̌̏͠ ̴̟̬͉̫̟͎͈̣͍̂̊̊̀́͛̊Į̷͉̥̘̻̹̜̮̞͙͗̋́̎ ̸̛͚̞̥͔͚̺͔͔̮̮͖̅͆̈́̆̄͑̈́̎̕͜͜͝͝á̸̡̲͔̪͎̝͕̬̪̳̬͔̇̇̇̾̾g̷̡̱̝̓͛̕ͅͅr̷͈͚̭͙̯̙̞͇̰̺̰̂̊̔̓͊͛e̵̢̢̧̗̗̤̙͖̦̬̲͇̝͔̍̓̾͗͗͊̅͆̆̊̈̈́͘͝ę̵̨̡̳̝̣̠̭̪͓̻͙̖̋̍̎͛̃͘ͅ ̸̢̺͇̗͚̦͉͔̖̼̤̮͍̫̆̕͜͝w̷̗͉͇̱̖͆̑̑̈̊́i̵̙̘̤̥̭̲͇̪͍̐͑̂̅̕͝͝t̵̼̏̎͒̔̇̎̾̿͐̑͗͜͠͠h̸̢̨̘͓̘̙͑̐̐̏̉͝ͅ,̴͚̪͍͙̩̠͉̭̣͓̣͖̩̹̏̈́̔̆͜͠ ̵͇͎̈͗̌̿́̕ţ̴̡̢͎͉̝͓̜͕̣̟̩̆̈̚͠h̴̜̀͛̂͘ẻ̶̛̺͙̳̹̞̳̪͍͓͇̍̈͊̊̊̒͘͘y̷̡͚͕̬̳̞͉͕͓̼̰̗͚̥̙̔̾̾͗̾̅̆͛̓'̵̞̥͚̣͔͔̞̩̖̗̥̃́̿̿͂̑͋̿̈́̐͜͜͝ļ̴̛̭̹̣͕͇͕͔̑̍͗̑̇̑̍̉̃̔͒̕͝͠ͅĺ̵͍̱̹͍̺̓̇̃̚ ̷̧̯̻̦̞̝͕̫͖̯̱̿͆̽̎͗̍͝͝p̵̠͉̥̬̼̈̈̃͠ŗ̴̣̩̹̮͇̖͔̫͚̟͕̫͒͛̐͘ǫ̵̩͉̝͔͓̲͈̀̏̕ͅb̸̻̖̅ą̴̳̥̝̬̼̝̗͍̳̉̆̎͗̓̅͗̐̎͐̎̚̚͜͝ḇ̸̢̳͇͕̗̥̘̱̻̘̬̲̘̘̊̉̓̎͑͐̾̔̔̏̈̎͝͝͠ļ̴̭̩͇͠y̶̡̡̝̘͔̫̞̬̠̞̩̜͕̎̋͛͜ͅ ̴̠̭̅͛͂̓̄̈́̃̈́͛͂̆̔̕͝͝t̷̼̩̲̰̫̝͇͖̝͔̥͙̄̿̓ͅḧ̵̛̦͔́̽͆̐̄͌̆̽̍͝î̴̧͖̹̦̌̀̍͊̓̾́̆͂̕ṋ̵̋̄̍̈͒̃͗̌̈́̓̈̕ͅk̶̬̝̘͕̪̤̮̺̀̏̊͌̿͆̿͑̃̅̽͌ ̸̼̫̖̃͘m̵̛̱͖̳̣͔̪͗̈̈́̅͗͗̒̃͂̐͘̚ờ̷̛̛̺͎͐͗͒̀̏̈͛͘r̸̘͎͓̲̹̒̈́̅͊͋̾͐͌̏͜e̶͙̣͋̓̿̉͛̕ ̸̝͚̟͖͛̑h̶̛̥̲̹̙̰̼̜̙̝̲̯̜̝̒̋́̾̈̚͠i̵̯̾̒̇͒̆̄̈́̚͝ġ̴̡̨̧̨̭̘̲̲̲̬͔͂͛̏̓̔̈́̇̓͒̍̚͜͝h̴̖̟̋͆̃͊̾̑̾͌̅̋̏̚l̴̛̛̪̥̍͋͋͊̆̈́̈́̽̈́͝y̸̨̨̞͗̔͒̈́ ̴̧̨̡͓͙̬̬̦̜͍̼̪̍̑̉̈̆͋̚͝o̵̘̩͊̅̏͗̃̉̑̔f̶̨̼̥͙̠͓̤͖̖̘̜̱̍̓̊̓̈́ͅ ̷̡͇̫̰͔̥̺̭̠̯͆̔̈m̴̰̹͇̠̜͌̃͋̑̈́͜e̶̢̛̙̺͕̪̦͙͕̥͚̙̥̳̩̫͊̇͒͗͑͆̇̐̓̾͌̚͘͝!̸͍̝͔̫̳͉͍̯͖̖̮̜̗̝̑̓_

_S̶̡̠̱̦̺̩̲̝̻͙̪̫̭̿o̸͎͇͖̽̍̑͑͒̓̃̇͛͊̈͜͝,̶͉̜͙̭̺͔̱̭̹̭͙͑̓͋̚̚ ̷̧̂̇̅̑̂̌̐̀̊̕͘͘͠o̴̡̧̯̻̣̗̖̰͚̱̟̪̹͎̎̂̆̉̐̅̊͐͆͝͝f̶̨̛͔͚͕̠͒̂́̄̈̾͂͌̚ͅ ̵̡̨̙͚͈̮͍̲̈̒̈̔͑̀͠c̶̡̠͚̞̗̩̗̹͖͖̲͚̖̜̺̏ȯ̸̢̩̗͚͔͖̳̖̻̜̲͈͌̽̏͂̏͑̃̍͒̾͝͝͠ū̷̢̨͔͖̱̫̭̘̳ͅȓ̸̨̛̥̥̩͓̻͔̹̻̣͙̅̊̃̆͑̚̕͜͜s̷̢̬͕̯͚͈̬͎͓͙̼̜̪͖͊̓̋̽̈́̍͒̍̕̚ė̸͙̜̲͋̌̊͑̔͒̈́͐͑̈͝ ̴͎̬͉̻͖̺͔̹͉̟͉͂͊ͅͅt̵̰̰̻͈̤̫͓̔̿̔͜͠h̸̨͇̪͉͕̣̭̪̞͔͘̕ä̸̡̬͙̞̟̺̰͌ẗ̸̰̹̞̪̯͚́͗́̎'̴̢̟͖͉̳̼̻̗͚͔̠͆̈͊̈́̔͑̓͒͒͠s̸̭̎͌̈́̈ ̵̡̦̟̜͇̟̱̇̑̆̿̈́̂̓̈́̓g̴̛̰̮̦̯̠̫̦͕͊́̋͑̋̃̆̓͊͘͝ö̸͕̤̪̠͈̟͈́̌̒̎̑̊͂͑̊̽̏͜͠ͅͅĭ̶̹͇̮͒n̷̤̯̞̫̤͉̊͗̂͒̎͛̌̍͗͑̅̑̔̕ģ̶̖̫̯̓̎͌̆̇͑͋͊̃̋̕͘͝͝ ̷̧̟͙͙̩̥͗͐͗̓̓̎͌͒͑̍̿͘̚̕͠t̵͍̣͊̇͗̾̑͆̊͌͂̈͝͠o̵̙̖̬̗̹̮̮͈̔̒ ̶̢͉̼̘͕̲̈́̈̂̃͜ͅb̵̨̧̡̨̦͙̠͇̭͇͎͚͎͎͒e̵̢̨͚̫̺̞̙̮̣͕̒̈́̐̍̽̀̓͑̑͝ͅ.̷̨̢̛̺̝̱̫̰̦͕̫̰̞̔̃̿̋̍̇̚͝.̸͕̘̪̍͝.̵͚̯͇̳̰̹͚̖̒͋̄ͅ_

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Y̵̭̳̬̞̻̬̝͈̯͔͐̿̃̎̌̄̐̈́̐͂̃͠ͅͅu̸̢̡̡͓̜̝̗̞̣̘̳̻͑͐̎̅͜r̴̨͇̤̠͇̃̀̋͑̈́̾̉̑̉̑̋͊̕͝i̴̺̳̻̍

H̸̝̩̠̓̂̂̌̋͒͐̿̓̾̕͝͝e̴̘̺̳̤͎̦͔͝l̴͉̮̩͔͇̤̘̙͖̠̹͕̽͊͗͆̅̕̚͜͜p̴̢̧̨̢͇̦͇͉̯̭̗̹͒̊͌̀͐ ̸̛̯̿̅̂̈͂̇̆̽̃͋̚͜m̴̨̡̡̦̻͉̫̯̗̐̈́̍ë̶̮̲́̋͐̅̐̿,̸̨̛̭̤͈̙͍̳̹̰̞̣̫̇̈́͐̽̈́̾̇̕͜͠͠ ̷̨̨͉̬̲̈͒̔͆̎͝S̷̢̨̲̠̠̺̥̞̩͍̝̜̠̤̿̋̈̎̏͐͆̓̍̈͋̕ǎ̷̛̤͈̦̻̼̪̬̦̭̟̥̊̃̒͌y̴̡̬̭̰̱̙͔̲͕̙̒̾͒̐o̵̱̤̺̞̜̬̱̙̫͍͍͖̟̝͐̀̎̄͊̿̈́̀͂̑̈̍͜r̷͇̯̤̹̹͕͆͒̃͘̚i̶̠̩̝̣̤͇̹͕̒͐̕ͅ!̵͔͗̈́̌̅

_What do I do????_

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

_I can't choose a side! Both of them have valid points!_

My vision blurs for a second, and for a brief moment, I feel sick to my stomach.

"N-Natsuki...Yuri..."

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

My head is spinning, and all my words are stuck in my throat.

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

"...Y-you guys, w-why...um...Sayori!"

"Eh?" Sayori gasps, clearly startled at being put in spotlight.

"Everyone's fighting is making Sayori uncomfortable!"

Because they are.

_Sayori hates conflict even more than I do._

Remembering this gives me the courage to stand tall. 

"How can the two of you keep fighting like this when you know you're making your friend feel like this?"

"...Well, that's her problem!" Natsuki says snootily. "This isn't about her."

"I-I agree," Yuri says coldly, "it's unfair for others to interject their feelings into our conflict."

"Yeah, unless Sayori wants to tell Yuri what a stuck-up jerk she's being."

"She would never...! It's your immaturity that's made her upset in the first place!"

" _Excuse_ me? Are you listening to yourself? This is exactly why...exactly why nobody likes-"

" _Stop!!_ " Sayori shouts.

Everyone falls silent; I think this is the first time any of them has ever heard her get this loud. 

"Natsuki! Yuri! You guys are my friends!" Sayori tells them earnestly. "I-I just want everyone to get along and be happy! My friends are wonderful people...and I love them because of their differences! Natsuki's poems...they're amazing because they give you so many feelings with just a few words! And Yuri's are so amazing because they paint beautiful pictures in your head!"

_This is who Sayori is._

Underneath all her layers, she's always been someone who understands people, knows how to look deep within and see things others miss.

"Everyone's so talented...so why are we fighting...?"

Both Natsuki and Yuri look unsure.

"Be-because..." Natsuki halfheartedly begins. 

"Well..."

The two of them fall silent.

"Also!" Sayori says, in a much more cheerful voice, "Natsuki's cute and there's nothing wrong with that! And Yuri's boobs are the same as they always were! Big and beautiful!!"

There's an awkward pause.

Sayori stands triumphantly.

Monica stands behind her with a bewildered expression. 

"I'll... make some tea..." Yuri says quickly, before rushing off.

Natsuki sits down with a blank expression on her face, staring at nothing.

I make my way over to Monika, and say quietly, "So this is why Sayori's Vice President..."

She nods in return.

"To be honest," Monika admits quietly, "I might come off as a good leader, and I can organize things...but I'm not very good with people."

Monika looks down at the floor, face flushing. "I couldn't even bring myself to interject. As President, that's kind of embarrassing of me."

Looking back up, she chuckles awkwardly. "Ahaha..."

"Are you kidding? You saw how I reacted. If anyone should be embarrassed, it's me."

"Well..." Monika begins, "I guess that means Sayori is amazing in her own ways, isn't she?"

"People tend to underestimate her, you know. They think she's some kind of airhead, and I won't deny she acts like one. But...she's a lot deeper and complex than most people give her credit for."

"I see. Take good care of her, okay? I would hate to see her get hurt."

"That makes two of us...but don't worry, you can count on me."

Monika smiles sweetly at me, causing my stomach to knot. Such a generous person really does make a good president, regardless of what she says.

I̴̟̬͋͗̈́̑̀͝f̵̛̲͙͙̗̟̮̝͖͚̣͗̈́̊̒̇̂̐̕ ̴̣̺̪̞͉̹̣̭̮́ͅͅo̵̢̝̖͉̘̤̫͈͕̭̣̞̺̪͗̓́̾̔̇̐̕ñ̷̮͓͇̪̭̖̱͎̭̪̿͆͗̈l̴̢͇̩̗͕̯͕̭̪̫̳̖̭̺̈́̓̌͑̉̏y̴̠̼͋ ̷̱͙͚̦͕̠͇͙̝̒̆͋͐̀̈̕̕͝͝ͅI̷̡̡̳͓̮̖͕̲͍͇̣̞̭͒̆̓̔ ̷̡̯͔̞̮̅́̐c̶̨̧̝͍̠̺̪̜͉͌̅̊̈̅̄̽̀͜͝͠o̸̡̜̻̹͌̂̔͌̿̿̑̈́̉̚̚̚ư̴̩̪̖̣̝̭͎̹̼̖̼͈͖̱̘̔̂̽͂͊̾̒̅̽͂͝͝ĺ̵̨̠̟̳̳̻̲̯̞͜͝ḑ̸͕̰̟͚͈̖̲̱̬̳̙̣͛́̄̃̏͂͊̈́́͒ͅ ̵̛͓̙͓̯͍̯̖̯̘̓͌g̶̡̰̣̜̯͂͌̆͛̈̊̏͒̽̌͜e̵͔͇̗͍̬̩̞͔̗͑̾͌̍͛̔͗͒̿̏͗̐͊͘͝t̴̨̜̰̫̗͛̈̽̕͠͝ ̵͇͓͉̘̰͙̋̄͑̍̿̅̃͗̈́̽̈́͝͠͝͝a̵̮̹̖̳͙̬̮͇̰̱͆̄͝͝ ̴̧̲̦̻̤̮̦͊̿́̐̋͛̀̒͘c̶͙̼͋͗͋̈́̃̕ḩ̴̡̦̳̠̯͍̋̓̓̆̏͐̓̍͗̏͘͝ͅǎ̸̭̒̐̏͑͑̓͑͒̊̈̔͊̈n̷̡̧̼̬͖̔̿͐̾̂͐͆͗c̶̠̗̜̱̻̔͗͑̽̔͂̓̉̋̈́̍̅͝ȩ̶̫͙̙̝̰̫̙̮̘̇̔͒̃̓ ̶̨̹̼̖̬̲̖̪̞̗͈͂̈́̔͝͠t̴̡̡̞̦͇̩͉̪̳͚͎̦̞͑̽͛̉͆͑̈̅̔͆̚̕͝͝ö̵̠͉̞͐͑̇͌̈͋̎̿̈́̈́͌̚͝ ̶̞͎͖͛̏̒̉͂̔̊̎̃̚͜ͅţ̴̛̄͂̆̿̋̀̉ą̶̨̛̙͉͓̪̥̙̭̭͕̜̈́̍͑͊͑͛̿̆̍̕͜͝͝ͅl̵͍̱̖̙͓̗̑̌͌̄̑̓̊k̷̙̥̖͎̆̾̆́̉̈́̓̂͒̃̊ ̵̨̧̥̪͚͓͍͚̰̘̻̩̮̾̇t̶̛̮̳͊̀̌͐͒̾̍̐̆̍̈͗͠ơ̵̰̫̓̓͆́̿̃̈͗̄͘͝͝ ̷̢͖̟͉̾̈́̉͗͗̈́̏̌͘̕̕͜͠h̵̳̓͐ĕ̶̛̦͙͎̪̻̿̄͐̀́͆͑́̐͝r̴̼͙̆̂̒͊̓̒ ̴͔̩̹̙̬̯̹̂̇̔̑̐̍̃̍̆͋̈́̃͝m̴̢̛̤̏̽͊͆͐͗͛͂͋͛̕͠͠o̴̘͔͔̬̽͑̄͘r̶̬͙͖͎̙͕̯͔͗̌̏̈́̀é̵̫̹͉͑̅̆͂͐̒̃͛̕.̶̣̼̥͊͐̔̾͑̽̓͗̄̓̅̏͝͝.̸̢̩̮͚̠̞̣̮̦̤͆̐͋̈́͐̂̾͛̒ͅ.̴̨̛̟͈̻̯̊̾

_I just wish my head would stop aching..._

"Okay, everyone!" Monika announces, "It's just about time for us to leave. How did you all feel about sharing poems?"

"It was a lot of fun!" Sayori says with a smile. 

"Well," Yuri eventually says, "I'd say it's worth it."

Natsuki huffs. "It was alright. Well, mostly."

Then, Monika turns to me. "Kaito, how about you?"

"...Yeah, I'd say the same. It was a neat thing to talk about with everyone."

"Awesome! In that case, we'll do the same thing tomorrow. And maybe you've learned something from your friends, too. So your poems will turn out even better!"

Well, I did learn a little more about everyone's preferred style of poetry...that might be helpful in the future.

.

W̷̹̣̲̯̄̂̈́i̸̡̺̖̣̲̎̽͊̂̄̾̋͝ẗ̷͕̪̽͌̊͌̒̌̈́͊̈́̚̕͠͝h̸̼̊̑͒̅̏̌͒̃̏ ̵͈͙̟̱͖̪͐̀̉̕̕͘͜ă̸̩̳̳͇͕̼̲̒̇̿̾͆̿̆͑̒͗̕͝ņ̵̢̲̩̠̻̪̩̲̰̄̇̈́̆y̸̛̱̜̲̣̙͉͒̈̎̀͊̇̈́̍̍͑̕͠͝ͅ ̶̬̩͙̣̘̩̙̖̝̤̲͖̥̓̓̎̄̀͜l̷̤̻̠̱̾̌̓̒̋̆̐͜u̴̢̧̬̩̝̤͖̥̞̭̥̩͓̣̬͗͊̊̋̅͘c̸̛̙̅̄͐̃́̑͆̓̏̆̅͘͠k̷̛̻͌͐̋̿̽̑͆̓̚̕̕͝,̵͚͉͚͖̟̯̼̭̺͈͛̋̽͂̔̑̍͑̓̑͠ ̴͖̭̽̄͌̃͑t̴̛̬̫̿͑̓̅͗͘h̸̢͕͔̪͈̮̳̅̒̌̋̆͆̎͊̐̒͘͘͝a̷͇̳̟̤̳̠̖̍̽͌̐̃̓̈́̅͂͝t̴̟̍ ̸̢̭͚̳̼͚̬͉̿̈́̅͗͌͋͊͒̊̉͒͒͘m̷̛̟̺̈̇̒̔̈́̇̄͗e̷̡̙̪̜͇̞̭͖̱̻͉̝̰͊̃͑̋̈́͝a̴̧̝̟͊̎͂̈́͜n̶̩̗̝͉͗̿̀͠s̸̯̜̱̬̰̖̠̒͆̃̑̎̅̋͑̓̆͒̏͠ ̷̢̬͉̮̝̥͍̦̰̘̝͗̿͑͂̈͑͠ͅͅI̸̧̡͈̼͚̦̫̺͈̩͈̽̓̾͋͜ ̸̪̲̖͓͕̙̭̺̂̀̏̋̃̓̄̔̑̏̆͒c̶̢̢͎͚̗̩̩͕̰̼̽̕͜a̶̯͈͍̭͔͚̺̹̳̭̟̝̬͋̇͛̋̇̾̑̆́̏̈́͑̃̏ṅ̸̤̹̯͖̠̱̣̭͙͙̱̥͍̭̎̏̄͝͠ ̶̝̣̮̖̮͎̕a̴̬̘̳̱̩͗̌͌̈́̽͊̅̒̿̎̕͝t̸̨̛̰͈͓̙͌̒̅͌̃̅̚̚͝͝ ̵̦͈͓̪̪͍̜̬͚̈́ļ̸̞͙͎͖̫̖̤͖̤̩̭̐̈́̆̋̆̈́̏̽́͘͝ͅe̴̞̣̟͓̭͇̰̅̇̓̏̒͂̌̔̏̒̽ͅå̵̩̇͗̑s̵̨̨̭͎̲̘̈́͑̋̀̿̂̑̅͊t̵̢̨̡̞͕̱͙͚̻͍͚̭̑͑̈́͗͂̔͂̌̒͗̚ ̷̤̬̌̅͊̕d̴̢̧̛͚̬͚̲̜̼͚͎͍͚̊̈̕o̴̻͇̲͉͍̫̮͈̤͉̖̹̓̓̕̚͜͜ ̶̢̯̜̯̗͚̙̻͓̍̃̃̈́͑́̕͝͝a̷̬̙̯̿ ̷͓̭̼̇͒̿̋̃̆̒͐͋̋͂̕͝͠b̷̧̡͙̮̠̜̟̠̲̖̘̬̮̋̍̈́͌̿̂̃̄̎̕̚ê̶̛͖̜͙̣̱̾̍͌͛̅̅̈́̌͐͘ť̸̗͔̫̿̐̍̌͋t̸̗͈̠̄̎̈́̉̃̐ȇ̶̢̨̡̨͕̻̲̫̠̪͍̐̃̊̎̌͑̋̕͜͝ŗ̴̡̛̪̙̭̜͙̞̳͉͉̗͆̄͒̈̑̚͝͝ ̷̧̰̫͊̌͠j̴̛̠͖̙̼̯̝̬̙̺̳̺̇͋͗̈́̒͐̐̏͆ͅo̶̝̖̹̲̜̿͑̈́b̴̩͖̓͛͋̾̉̑̃͘ ̵͕̥̯̭̣̦̱͊̀͗͌̌̅̿̀̓̏̚͠a̷̠̰̔͗̉͋́͐͊̕͝͠t̴̡̢͕̻̞̖͚̙̞̭̼̽͜ ̸̨̭̥͎͉̜̩͙̝̈́͆̆͛̅͒̋͗̒͋͘͘̚i̵̙̜̥͔̞̳̜̙̘̟͛̐̿̓͋̆̊̃͘͜m̵̪͍̮̘̮̻̙͙͓̰͖̋͑̏͛̃̐̈́̆̚͝͠p̴̡̛̥̫̞͙̥͈̞͓̩̜̣͇̦̏́͗̅̒̒̾͂̿́̄̊͠ͅr̸̺̤̿́ę̵̢͓̪̜̇͊̓s̶̨̢̹̪̝̫̹̥̞͚̱̊͋̐̈́͗̉̈̓͌̓͘͝s̷̘̉i̵̢̗͍͇̮̤̇́̈́́̈́̃̓n̸̨̪̰͇̩͖̲̙̾ġ̷̦̲̯̝̬͒̏̈̉̓͂̆̅͘ͅ ̷̲͔̗͚̜͈̗͊͊̓͒̔̈͌͂̃͝͠͝t̴̩̲́̿͑h̸͔͉̿̅̊̉̈́̓͒̑̕͝o̴̧̧̻̼̤̳̼̖̳̠̓̂͗̌̑͊̄̊̚͜͜͝ͅs̴͉̺̟͈̲͕̓͂͛̈́̍̏́͛͒͗̌̐͐̽ḙ̷̙͙̳̌̿̂̾̈̉́̄̽̃̿̿̓̀̕ͅ ̸̡̧̡̦̙͇̗̺̀̿͝I̵̛̮̘̫̪̱̲̣͙͂̍̍̄̂̍́̓̀̒̕͝ ̷̩͚̹̳̺͎͔̐͠ẅ̸̢͖͚̫͍̫̒̌͑̂̏̐̽ą̸͚̯̹̝̗̙̟͉̍͒̇̒̿̾͋ͅņ̷͈̭̖̳̟̘̰͈̻̹͕̘̰̀̑̊̃͐̈́̿̈̒̓̆͊̀͘̕t̵͙̟̮̟̗͕̟̅͒̔̉̿͌ ̷̛͔̻̤̹̹̠̬̜̉͒̋̎̂͌͌̒̂͘͝͝t̶͎̟̩̻̮̝͙̲͕̩͔͋͆͊̅̏̂̍̈́̾̌̊͝o̸̰͑͗̈͆͝ͅͅ ̸͚̰̞͔̟͍̝̟̬͔̰̣̈́̒̈́̍̏̆́̀̈̈̚̚̚͜͠ͅi̷̢̡͎̭̳̞̗̪͕̗̩̍̒͜͝ͅm̷̨̛͚͈̠̫̖̝̰͔̟̋̾̓̊̇͌͗̾̋̒̋p̷̘͌̈́̑̾̊̅́̿̄̍͊̈͊͠ṟ̵͓̮̟̹̖̪̜̃̈́̐̉̐͋͐̈́̄̿̋͊́͠e̷̡̙̹͊̈́̒̋̎̚s̵̺̲͍̺̗͖͎̪͛̇̃͊͜s̶̢̲̖̺̺͆̂͂̑̊͝.̵̨̢̨̣͚̼̞̜̹̜͎̔̾̀͂͋̓̃

"Kaito, ready to walk home?"

"Sure, just let me grab my bag."

Sayori giggles, beaming at me. 

It truly has been a while since Sayori and I have spent this much time together. 

...I've missed her.

On the way home, I can't help but mention, "Sayori...about what happened earlier..."

Sayori looks surprised. "Eh? What do you mean?"

"You know, between Yuri and Natsuki. Does that kind of thing happen often?"

"No, no, no!" Sayori says hurriedly. "That's really the first time I've seen them fight like that...I promise they're both wonderful people."

She then looks worriedly at me. "You don't...you don't hate them, do you??"

"No, I don't hate them!! I just wanted your opinion, that's all. I can see why they'd make good friends with you. Not to get all mushy, but you have a way of bringing people together."

Sayori blushes a little. "Phew. You know, Kaito, it's nice that I get to spend time with you in the club. But I think seeing you getting along with everyone makes me the happiest. And I think everyone likes you, too!"

I can feel my face flush. "That's-"

"Ehehe," Sayori giggles. "Every day is going to be so much fun!"

I let an over-dramatic sigh, linking my arm with her's. "If you say so."

"Don't be such a constant downer!" Sayori laughs, swatting at me with her free hand.

I̸̢̛̖̘̹̞̫̥͎̥͇̞͕̳͛̄͆͒̒͋̀͘͠͝ţ̷̙͎̔̎̏͑͆̓͆̀̒̃͌͘̚͘ ̵̯͇̦̫͙̥͚̫̳̮̲̺͇͒̒͒̌̈́̋̀̕l̴̨̨͙̞̘̖̱̙͙̻̺̝͙͖̱̽̈͐̉̅ŏ̷̝̤̫̹̬͛ó̵̯̥̎͛̇̊́̏̒̅̉̎̚͘k̴̢̘̯̲̰͕̳̺̣̖̙̱̃̐̔̂̌̈̾̑͛͛͝͠s̴̖̈́̅̔̆̀̊̑́̃̎̈́̒͝ ̷̝̰͇͚̰̘̥͔̬͓͚̫̇͋͋̾́̃̐̈͐̍̈́̚͜ͅl̵̲̝̟̤͓͎̣̮̘̺̹̼͆̎i̸̛̝͕̐͒͑̇̀̂͂̚ǩ̸̛̻̾̒̈́̐̐̾͂͛̒̿̚ẹ̸̓͛̑̈́̏̓̒̽͗̕ ̶̨̧̛͙͔̙̙̯̬̱̻̘͔̂̈́̅̌̀̇̽̉̀͒͐̔̉S̶̨̨̘̤͇̫̘̱̰̳̈́̓̊͂̾̈́͆͒̿͗͠͝ą̶͖̠̼̻̠̟͎̞̌͒́̍̈́̉̈́͌̉͋̔̚ỷ̵̜͍̪̝̓̈́̿͗͒̐̅͊͐̀͜ơ̵͚̻̹͕̯̭̈́̐͋̑̽̀̂͘͝r̴̢̛̺̻̻̖̘͔̠̟̱̋̽̌̆̆͒͊̉́͊̕ǐ̶̛̪͕͇̝̟͚̣̩̱͖͋̊́͗͊̐ ̶̨̡̞̠̠̲̲̮̰͚̱̘͈̿̈́̆͛͘͝s̸̼͓͉̥̼̰͇̳̰̟̠̤̑͆̏̿͆͑͆͋̎̅̚͘͜t̵̢̡̬͙̭͖̘̱͚̳̝̮͕̍̉̒̈͛̔̾̇͑̿͊͜į̶̦͇̩̠̝̯̖̥͙̱̩̰̓̑̿̓̑̉̒̚l̴̗̬̟̟̠̺͇͂͘l̵̢̘̣̱̼̯̲̦͗̎ ̴̧͉̺̦̊̅̓̎͂̓̒́͊̓h̶̡̨̗͇̞͎͍̙͈̹̖͔̺̼͐͌͊̏͊̂̈̽͘̚͝͠a̸̱͈͓͖̣̱͖̙͉̥̖̫̟̚͘͠s̷̡̡͇̤̼͔̰̰̜̪̘̖̲̒̆͜n̵̞̭̳̙͉̅̎͋͗̐̃̽͛̈̚͘͘͜͝'̸͉͇̀͛̆t̵̙̟̜͆̔͛̅̅͑͛̌̇ ̸̨͇͍̲̻̯̦͈̈́̑̈́̎͊̑͝͝͠ç̶̡̳̙͇̳̩͙̣̖̱͉̞͎̊͂͋͌̂̕͘à̶̗̯̩͉͕̯̞̳̤̦̖̫̓̏̈́̊́̋̚͘͜ų̷̬͙̮̥͍̦̥̹̹̤̱͓̞͋̈́͆͌̊̀̉̚͘͝͠ͅģ̶̡̡̬̦̻͖̱͓͖̬̹͍̗̊̽̎̊̾h̸̬̐̈́͐͑̋̄̋̀͒̇͌̍̋͠͠t̶̨̢͎̥̤͙̮̪͇̫̗̽̂͊̒̍̊̓̏͗̃̒̂̋̚ ̴̛̛͎̞̳̰̞̦̗̳͓̪̘̻͛̐̒̉̉̓̋̍̈͝͝ơ̶̢̧̪̍̔n̵̡͔̹̦̼̻̦̻̯̥̥͈̈́̐̉̊̈̐̚ẗ̴̹͓̩͔̬̀o̴̘̘̖̻̤̹͔̰͆̈́̅͛͂̄ ̴̼̘̫̗̻͎͂̅̔̄̌͘͝ț̶̡̢͓̪̰͓̉̎̀̋͒̎̔̊̀̈́ͅh̶̡̛͈̳̘͋͆͆̀̄̿͠ȩ̵̨̫͎͔̂̑̀̋̈́̔̃̊͠͝ͅ ̴̘̼̘̩̘̹̗̮̽͒͘͜s̸̲̟̰̳͛̽̃͆̚i̷̛̻̞̟̬̹͕̥͍̭̰̓͛̾̄͐͠t̷̢̼̣̭͉̮̥̰̦̖̼̗̤͍̭͛̓u̴̢̝̲͍̺͚̳̮̦͖̽̂̓̊̇̈̇̍͂͝ą̶̪̞͈̝̟̭̺̯̙̱̘̬̈̎͂͛̈̚t̷̝̜̮̰̹͚̳̱͇̻͔̯̟̊́̽͋͘ḯ̵̻̖̎̓͋͌̍͑̇́̊̈̅̎ŏ̵̺͉͖̟̼͔̩͍̐͋̈́̾n̴̢̥͌̆̆̽͗̒̏͊̇̒̑̽͊̒ ̷̨̺͓͇̰͍̽͋̃͊̓͂̏͘I̵̧̛̛̛̩̝͖̞̒́̈́̈́̋͛'̸͉̫͕͈̮̽̎̂̎̔̉͑͛̀͊̆͗͝m̵̛̬̮͚͙͔̣͌̌͒̿͐͂̋͑͘͠͝ͅͅ ̵̨̢̛̛̹͚̓̇̄͋̾̎̒̔̑̊́͐͠i̴̬̯̲̳̘̬͊́̑̄̒̇͌̾̈̕ͅn̸̡̡͈̬̖͉̱̩̠̬̲͐̓̌̈́̅̈́̐̑̿̆͒̿̚.̴̡̡̧̯̭̭̘͚̫̼͎̐͋̽͂̈́̅̆͐͊̈̇͋̚  
̶̨̝͐̄̊́̈́̈̀̑̓Ŝ̸̺͌́͌̅̕ͅư̴̢̢̻̬̤͉̜̳̜̠̳̼̯͐̊̈̋ͅȓ̷̡̜̦̗͖͓̦̲̫̹̬̣̺̲̾̈́̌͋̉͑͆̓̋̎̕ͅe̷͕̦̦̣̐̈́̂,̴̨̖̠̲̣͚̞̫̪̖͈̥͉̀̿ ̶̙̂̐̽͂b̷̨̢̡̝̮̝͈̹̞̖̤̙̒͋̊̅ͅͅė̴͈̹̦̼̪̹̫̗̪̅̌̌͂̊̇͒͆͆͠i̴̡̧̨̯̹̱͚̜̱̗̗̰͇̫̓̎̍̎̎͐̚ͅņ̸̯̘̗̮̣̳̻͂̍̽̋͂̉͊̐̓̚̚g̷̨̡͇͔͇̠̩͍̙͙̼̀̑͒͌̋̉̕͜͠͝ ̴̛̛̪̼̯͎͈̖͈̪̙̠̆͋͊͌̂͝͝ͅf̶̪͎̽̕ͅr̷̖̙̤̞̱͑̄̊̍͠į̴̧̲̤͙̯̯̖͈͂̊̑̐͆̊̓̽̄̽̔̇̋͛͝ė̸̹̤̳̖̱̻̺̹̯̤̓̓̈́̂ͅn̷̨̨̻̩̆̏̈́͋͂̽̓̍̉d̸̨̛̝͎͛͌͌̌͑̽s̵̛̱̜̪̙̘͕͖͗͒̂͂̎́̌̈́̃̈́͝͠ ̷̨̨̯̪̲̝̼̩͓̠̲̇̏͑̚w̵̛͕͔͇͎̲͓̠̯̮̲̬̫̫̿̅̃͜ͅĭ̸̢͓̯̻͖͇͔͇̜̤̪̹͆̑̉͂͗̾̒̓̚͜͠ͅt̸̨̢̛͖͙͓̤̖̖̙͈̣̪̮͔̄͌̿̒̏̅̂͗̓̑̈́̊̚h̸̢̧̞̮̣̖̤̺͍́̌ ̷̜̿͋̿̍͝ḛ̷̙̗͈̰͋͐̈̂̚v̷̡̛̱̪̰͈̹̫͍̪͍̝̜̆͐̏̉͘͝ḛ̴̬̠̯͎̰̏͆͒̽̒̈́̂̎͆͌̓͘͝͠͠ŗ̷̼̜̳͎̹̗̼̠̪̥̭̺̽ͅy̴̩̹̩͈͕͂̔͂͛́o̵̟̓̿́̈́͌͑͐͠͠n̵̘̾͂̒͒͊̿̕e̸͙̬̹̥̾͋̈́͗̄̑͗̏̑͋͌̏͌ͅͅ ̴͔͒̅̋͑̓̊̈́͜í̵͇̐̈̀̃͊̅̓̚š̸̹̱̪̔͋͛̽ ̷̫͎̯͓̮̱̒̑̓̈̈͝͠ṅ̶̦͚̻̯͖̦͙̘̝̖͑̐̂͒̏̈́̒̆̕͝͝î̶̧̟̜̺̳̞͇̫̙c̵̛̝͉͖̞̲̙̾͐͂͌̋ͅe̶͍̖̖̋̌̒̋͌̀͋̆̑̈́͋̚͘,̵̢̞̹͎͎͎̻̼̭̽̒̽̉̍̿̓̉̊̎̀̊̊͝ ̷͈̠͕̓̑̿͌̎̒͗b̵̧̙̖̭͍͖̤̦̳̠̹̋̆͛̀̉̕ư̷͇̲͂́̈͑̏̅̌͂͒͘ͅt̷̛̘̮͍͙̳̠̤̖̦͍̘̝̑̄̽́͂̍͛̋̎͂͊͗̚.̸̪̽͜.̸̖͇̻̾̎̑̅͂̔͑͗̾͑̌̄̈͘.̶̭̼͙̝͉̝̙͒̋͋ͅͅ  
̵̛̭̻̉̍͋͒͊̎͑́̆̕͘͠͠.̷̧̨̧̠͙̺͔̐̅̈́̌̇̏̀̓̉.̵̨̯͉̼̳̥̫͎̔̎̓͌̎̉̔͑̃̔̎̄̊͝͝ͅ.̶̧̡̗̮̗̟̘͇͙̖̟̠̑̇̈́͌̐̈́̋̎̇̽̿D̸̘͇̣̰̗͊͌̆̾̈́͘ȯ̷͓̭̥̰̳̘̜͌̍̓e̴̘̦̟͙̥̲̹͇̣͆̒̑̆̇̔͒̎͆͠ş̶̠̭͈͙̠̹̫̺̗̻̥̔̐̅̈́̎̃ͅ ̴̢̣͚̻͉͉̩̯̇̎̄̓̑̒̑̋͝į̶̨͚̝̳̼͖͖̯̂͗̈́̓̅͒̏̀̌̒͘t̸̨̛̮̹̰̺̝̥̊͂͌̌̽͆̾͐̌̚͝ ̴̭͔̲̩̹̼͎̪̤̥͖̆͂̿̅͒̓͊̅͘̕r̴̮͔͉̳̱̗̠͈͉̊̂͂̉͒̃͗̐́e̴͕̰̘͇͂͂͛a̸̹̒̀͂̈́͊̕l̶̡̜̪̹̪̭̪̞̖͒̈́̍͊́͐̔̋͘͝͝l̶̛̖̦͗̏̈́̾̌̔̈̂̊͘͜ÿ̸̢̨̱͇̝̜̖͚̗͈́͛̈͗̾́ ̸̨͔̳̣̗̙͓̯̜͈͖̺̹̊̈́͗̅͒̍̔͐͂̾̾̚͠n̴̡̠̪̭̹͖̗͔̫̗̹̓̐̔̄̓͑̉̎̂̉̀̒̚ͅe̶̬͙͈̟̳͇̤͎̳̮̹̯̣̍͌̑̔̌͑́̒̏̂̚͜͜e̶̛̛̛̪͚͙̎͑͒̈́̅̂͌̇͝ḑ̵̛̳̬͉̳̥̼͖͑̾̌͛̓̈̍̈́͛̚ ̸̛̦͓̣͔̰̃̀͋̇̆̂͑̃͆̆̉̆̈́ͅt̶̢̧̳͓͎̰̗͔̼͈̜͈̘̑̓̏̈̀̈̑̈̍͜͝͠o̶̧̧̝̗͆͂̈́ ̴̨̢̠̻͙̞̲̳͎̝͎͍͚͋̿͜͠ṣ̵̘̟̈́̄̉̄̍̇̌͗̐̋͘͝͝t̷̢͍̘̠͇̱̰̳͆̓͘͝͝o̸͎̫̅̾̃̇̕ͅp̶̡̛͈̩͉͚̲̼̜̝̠̓͠͠ͅ ̴̨̡̟͇̼̌̑t̵̢̡̥̪͈͓̥̹͠h̴͇̞͕̼͛̅͋̌̒̅ë̵̳̬̱͓͈̩͔̹͕̾̈͐͂͐̉̒̚͜͝r̷̢̞̪̯̺͔̯̭̜̾̈́̎̾͋̈́́͂͜͝ͅȅ̸̘̠̱̖̞̃̃̓̒̉̾͐͜͠͠?̴̢̨̘̘̤̞̘͕͎̜̉̆̓̊̅

"We'll see what the future holds, Sayori," I say. "In the meantime, I think I'm going to have to take a nap when I get back home. My head is starting to hurt."

"Okay! Remember to take some aspirin and drink lots of water!"

"Will do."

***Save**


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